
Glass Fi^i 

Book .QiUA. 



1 "^ 

24th Congress, [ Rep. No. 672. ] Ho. of Reps 

1*/ Session. 



CUMBERLAND ROAD EAST OF THE OHIO. 

[To accompany bill H. R. No. 031.] 



May 17, 1830. 



Mr., Mercer, from the Committee on Roads and Canals, made theioi-. 

lowing 

REPORT: 

The Committee on Roads and Canals, to which were referred sundry 7ne- 
morials from citizens of the United States, prai/ing- that Congress 
ivould complete the Cumberland road, east- of the State of Ohio, by 
erecting a bridge between the town of Wheeling and the island, in the 
State of Virginia, lying opposite thereto, have, according to order, had 
the subject under consideration, and submit the following report in re 
lation thereto. 

Without deciding the question whether the compact between tlie United 
States and the State of Ohio, under which the Cumberland road was begim, 
impo.ses upon Congress the obligation on which the memorialists insist, it 
caimot be doubted but that the completion of this road requires the erection 
of bridges over the various streams which it crosses, and especially over 
the largest rivi'v which it has encountered, in its route towards the capital 
of the State of Missouri, its ultimate destination. 

It is believed that, if a duubt has at any time existed of the expediency of 
contructing a bridge across the Ohio at Wheeling, it has arisen either from 
the magnitude of the probalile cost of such a structure, or the possible ob- 
struction which it might occasion, if erected on any of the plans hitherto 
proposed, to the safe and ready passage of steam-boats, of large dimensions, 
beneatli its arches. 

The plan which the committee presume to recommend by the accompa- 
nying bill, for a suspension bridge at Wheeling, will be liable, it will be ap- 
parent, to neither of those objections. 

By elevating its platform to the level of the main street of Wheelirig, at 
or near the point where the Cumberland road descends from the adjacent 
hill, and dispensing with tlie erection of piers in the current of the river, 
every imaginable danger of obstructing oi- endangering its navigation will 
be avoided, since the elevation of this street is lOQ feet'; and it is proposed 
tiiat the flooring of this bridge shall be not less than 90 feet above the or- 
dinary low water of the riverOliio. 

The only questions remaining to be decided, resolve themselves into two : 
can a durable bridge be constructed at the proposed elevation, without 
piers ? and can its cost be reduced to a reasonable sum ? 
Blair & Rives, printers. 



^ [ Rep. No. 672. J 

As to the practicability of erecting such a structure, sufficient evidence ;s 
afforded by a recurrence to document No. 374, of the 1st session of the 23d 
Congress, containing the letters of a highly respectable civil engineer of 
die Onited States, then but recently returned from a visit of professional 
inquiry to Europe, where similar structures have been submitted to the in- 
iallible test of experience with universal approbation. 

The character of Mr. Charles EUet, now a resident engineer on the 
James river canal, in Virginia, is well known to the chairman of this com- 
mittee, and his statements are entitled to the highest confidence. When 
consulted for a plan of the bridge then in contemplation across the river 
Potomac, at Washington, he recommended, in a communication which 
reached the committee too late to change its action on that subject, a sus- 
pension bridge, with openings of 600 feet, sustained by wire cables, instead 
of those chains of which America affords many examples, and computed 
the entire cost of such a structurr^ above the smface of the Potomac, apart 
from its abutments and pieis of masonry, at $362,419 60. 

The length of the flooring of this bridge would have been 4,940 feet, and 
of the wire cables required to sustain it, 5,400 feet. 

It was to have eight piers and two abutments, but their cost below the 
water surface had not entered into the above estimate. 

The breadth of the left channel of the Ohio, at Wheeling, is but 760 feet, 
and of the right channel but feet. It is proposed, therefore, to dispense 
altogether with piers in the current, and consequently, with any masonry 
whatever, except that of the abutments, and their necessary supports against 
the lateral pressure of the wire cables. 

The letters of Mr. Ellet, to the Secretary of the Treasury and the chair- 
man of the Committee on Roads and Canals, are hereto annexed for the in- 
formation of the House, accompanied by a profile delineation of the bridge 
"which he recommends for the river Ohio at Wheeling. Referring to those 
communications for the reasons which have induced the committee to con- 
cur in the recommendation of their author, and to their late report on the 
extension of the Cumberland read west of Columbus, for their view of the 
importance of the proposed work, they deem it unnecessary further to en- 
large on the expediency of supplying this essential link of the only chain 
of direct communication between the capital of the United States and the 
seats of Government of four of the largest States of this Union. 

It is. however, proper to remark that the estimated cost of the contemplated 
bridge is much enhanced by the omission of any reterence to the very ele- 
vated banks of the river Ohio where it is proposed to erect it, an element of 
a just computation, obviously aflecling the largest sum in the estimate, the 
cost of the masonry of the abutments, and not included in the estimate of 
the engineer, because it had not been comprehended in the description of 
this river, in reply to which his last communication was made to the chn ir 
jnaii of the committee. 

If the attention of the House be directed to the appendix of this report, it 
will be seen that in noticing all the objections that he could anticipate to 
his plan for a bridge across the Potomac, where it has a breadtli of 5,000 feet, 
the engineer, on whose authority the plan of a suspension bridge for the 
Ohio, at Wheeling, has been here recommended, has replied to every ob- 
jection which he could anticipate to the erection of such a structure over 
the comparatively narrow chaimels of the Ohio, on either side of the island 
opposite to Wheeling, neither of which exceeds in breadth 760 feet. 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 3 

The memorial, of which various copies have reached the committee 
through the House of Representatives, signed by 1,742 citizens of Ohio, 
and tiie States west thereof, is of the following tenor : 

To the fSenalc and House of Representatives of the United States, in 

Congress assembled. 

The memorial of the citizens and inhabitants of the State of Ohio, and 
of other western States, 

Rkspectfully represents : 

That, for nearly thirty years, the Cumberland or National road, so 
called; has been in progress, and has, during all that period, been an inte- 
resting subject, not only to the inhabitants of the western country, but to 
the great body of the American people, and has daily increased in import- 
ance and interest, until there is no man, who understands its great utility 
as a channel of conmiunicatioti and bond of union between the Atlantic 
and the western States, and the immense advantages and facilities which it 
affords to the transportation of the United States mail, and to the commer- 
cial operations of our common country, who hesitates to approve the ori- 
ginal policy and design of this road, as a National work, or doubts the 
propriety and expediency of its speedy and ample completion. We, there- 
fore, feel at this time, a conscientious conviction, that the Representatives; 
of the people and the States, will listen with attention and with patience to 
our petition ; and if we ask nothing but what is just, expedient, proper 
and practicable, they will grant all we ask. 

In the act of the Congress of the 30th of Aprib 1802, --to enable the 
people of the eastern division of the Territory Northwest of the River 
Ohio, to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission 
of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States," 
sundry propositions were oflered to the people of Ohio for their ''free 
acceptance or rejection."' upon condition that the State of Ohio would not 
tax the United States lands within her limits until live years after the sale 
of each tract or parcel thereof, by the National Governmciut ; which pro- 
positions, if accepted, were to be forever "obligatory upon the United 
States." Among those propositions was the following : " that one-twentieth 
part of the nett proceeds of the lands lying within said State, sold by Con- 
gress, froin and after the thirtieth day of June [then] next, after deducting 
expenses incident to the same, should be applied to the laying out and 
making public roads, leading from the navigable waters emptying into the 
Atlnntie. th the Ohio, to the' State of Ohio, and through the same." This 
proposition, with the others contained in the act, was accepted by the Con- 
vention of the people of Ohio, which formed her constitution, by an ordi- 
nance passed on the 29th November, 1802 ; and thereby the proposition 
became '' obligatory upon the United iStates:'' 

By the several acts of Congress wliich authorized Indiana, Illinois and 
Missouri, to form constitutions and State Governments, — the first in 1816, 
the second in 1818, and the third in 1820, the National Government obliged 
itself, (in like manner as it had done in the admission of Ohio,) to appro- 
priate two per cent, of the nett proceeds of the sale of lands within each 
State to the making of a road or roads leading to each State respectively 
and each of those States, as a consideration for this undertaking on th 



4 [ Rep. Noc 672. ] 

part of the United States, gave up, as Ohio had done, her right to tax the 
pubHc lands until five years after their sale. This consideration was of 
great vaUie, and the Government of the United States received the benefit 
of it ill the sale of their lands. 

In pursuance of the aforesaid compact with Ohio, the Congress passed 
ail act on the 29th of March, 1806, entitled " An act to regulate the laying 
out and making a road from Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, to the 
State of Ohio ;" by which it was provided, that the said road should be 
located from Cumberland to the Ohio river, instead of — " to the State ;" 
and the act, also, authorized " prompt and eftectual measjires" to be taken 
in the construction of said road " through the whole distance." Sundry 
appropriations were subsequently made, at long intervals, for the purpose 
of making and completing this road to the Ohio river ; but no appropria- 
tion, even for a survey and location for said road, or for any other, west of 
the eastern bank of the Ohio, was made until the year 1820 ; when the 
Congress, in pursuance of the compacts with Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, 
as well as that with Ohio, passed an act to authorize the appointment of 
commissioners to lay out a road '■'■from Wheeling, in the State of Virginia, 
to a point on the left bank of the Mississippi river, between St. Louis and 
the mouth of the liUnois river." Subsequent to the passage of this last 
act, in the year 1825, the (Jongress passed " on act for the contiriuation of 
the Cumberland road," and appropriated a sum of money " for the purpose 
of opening and making a road from the town of Canton, [now Bridgeport, 
Belmont Co.] in the State of Ohio, on the rig-ht bank of the Ohio river, 
opposite the town of Wheeling, to the Muskingum river at Zanesville :" 
and the same act directed the further prosecittion of the survey, authorized 
by the act of 1820 ; and it further directed, that such survey should be 
extended " to the seat of Government of the State of Missouri," and that 
the said road siiould " pass by the seat of Government of the States of 
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois." Since the year 1825, further appropriations 
have been made to complete the Cumberland road to Wheeling, and to 
prosecute the survey and constitution of the road from the right bank of 
the Ohio to the left bank of the Mississippi. We are not advised of any 
other appropriation whatever, ever having been made for the laying out or 
making any other road than the Cumberland road, Irom the navigable 
waters emptying into the Atlantic to the State of Ohio, or through the 
same. 

Your memorialists have taken the liberty to present the above brief 
review of the legislation of Congress on tliis important subject, that they 
may be the better understood in making known the causes wliich have 
induced them to adopt this memorial, and the grounds and principles upon 
whicli they rest their claim to tlie immediate and efficient action of the 
National Government; to redress a public grievance, buithensome and op- 
pressive to all classes of the community : not only for the present day and 
generation, but will be entailed upon generations yet unborn, through all 
time, unless that Government fulfil its sacred obligation, and redeem its 
solemn pledge, to the people of the east, north and south, as well ay the 
west. 

We consider the want of a bridge over the Ohio river, at Wheeling, to 
connect the eastern section of the Cumberland road with the western 
section thereof, as a deep and intolerable grievance, whicli can never be 
renioved and fully remedied, but by the timely and efficient action of the 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 5 

National Legislature, in carrying into effect and fulfilling their sacred obli- 
gation to complete the Cumberland road, "^ the ^(ale of Ohio." Why 
this chasm, this connecting link of the great national chain of intercom- 
munication between the east and the west, has not long heretofore been sup- 
plied, we can onl^'' answer by conjecture. The compact between the Ge- 
neral Government and the State of Ohio, by which the former became 
obliged " to lay out and make public roads leading from the navigable 
waters emptying into the Atlantic, to the Ohio, to the /State of Ohio, and 
throui^h the same,^^ it seems to us, was and is as obligatory upon the Na- 
tional Government as a like undertaking would have been upon an indivi- 
dual ; and in the laitiiful observance and fulfihnent of this compact the 
people oi the Atlantic States have ever been, and are now, equally, if not 
more deeply, interested than the people of the west. On what principle, 
then, we most respecthiUy inquire, has the Government of the Union ex- 
cused itself for a non-compliance with its just and voluntary obligation 
and plighted faith J Has the General Government yet made a single road 
from tiie navigable waters emptying into the Atlantic '• to the State of 
Ohio ?" If it has not. we ask. v^hi/ not '* Surely we shall not he told, that 
the Government of the United States, which wields the most powerful arm 
of any Government on earth (if wealth be power) is too poor, and excuses 
itself for a breach of obligation and public faith, in leaving one mile of 
the public highway, which it had surveyed and undertaken to make, in a 
worse condition and more truly grievous to the people, than a huge forest, 
morass, or perfect void, lor the sole reason, that this great link, a bridge 
over the Ohio, would cost two hundred thousand dollars. Such an excuse 
would be the more unwelcome and unjust, because the omission of a com- 
pliance with this part of the compact, in which the people are the most 
deeply interested, and have not the power to supply, leaves them forever 
without redress. 

We ask permission further to suggest, most respectfully, to the Repre- 
sentatives of the people and the States, some other considerations and 
reasons, which, if not sufficient of themselves, are irresistible in connection 
with those«already stated, to sustain the call v/hich we make for the erec- 
tion of a bridge over the Ohio river at Wheeling, by and under the direc- 
tion of the National Legislature, and with the national purse. 

Looking forward to the succession of ages, and even of years, it is be- 
yond the foresight of human intellect to say, what innumerable happy 
results would flow from the erection of a bridge over the Ohio at Wheeling, 
on a permanent and useful plan, both to the Government of the Union and 
to the people of this vast, enterprising and happy Republic. The Govern- 
tnent would experience from a safe and permanent bridge, despatch, cer- 
tainty and regularity in the transmission of the mail, and the like despatch, 
certainty and regularity in the transportation of troops and military stores 
in times of war or turbulence; an object of immense importance, not only 
to the Government itself, but to the inhabitants of the country, whose lives, 
and the salvation of an entire army, yea, even of the nation itself, miglit be 
suspended upon the non-existence of such a bridge. T/ e people would 
find, not only for the present, but for all future time, a safe, easy, certain 
and immediate passage, on a road of more importance than any other in 
the Union, over the fluctuating waters of one of the most interesting, and, 
at times, one of the most dangerous streams of America. The delay which 
is now experienced in the transmission of the mail, and in the journeys of 



6 [ Rep. No. 672. ] 

travellers and emigrants, at all seasons of the year : the expense attend- 
ing the crossing ot the streams on either side of the island at Wheeling — 
yea, even the loss of time in the passing of those streams by the people of 
the surrounding country, on either side of the Ohio, would, either of them, 
in one-half, perliaps, in one-fourth of a century, be a greater loss to the 
public, than the expense of constructing the most durable and elegant 
bridge in the world. 

Permit us still further to suggest, that although a bridge may be built 
over the river at Wheeling, by individuals or by a private corpoi^ation, 
which would unite what is yet disconnected, the eastern with the western 
section of the Cumberland road, and thereby afford to the United States 
mail, and to the travelling public, for the time being, safety and expedition 
in passing the waters of the Ohio ; still we conceive, and most earnestly 
urge upon the deliberate consideration of the Representatives of the people 
and of the States, not only, that a bridge so built, will not excuse a com- 
pliance on tlie part of the Cieneral Government with its solemn compact 
and obligation, m which the whole people of our conmion country have a 
deep interest, and impose lieavy tolls upon the people, where, by that com- 
pact, they ought to pass free ; but that the superior advantages which may 
be expected to result to the Government and the people, from the erection 
and future protection of such a work, by the National Government, both 
as to its construction and future usefulness, over one that should be erected 
by individuals, or by a private corporation, are not only apparent and 
striking at first view, but are in their beneficial results beyond the calcula- 
tion of the Vidsest statesman. Corporations, as well as individuals, always 
have in such works interests and views aside from the main object, and 
Mnll. necessarily, in the construction and subsequent control of such a work, 
seek to subserve their own and not the public welfare. And it does seem 
to us, that this consideration alone, when it shall be duly weighed by the 
intelligent and faithful servants of the people, in reference to a great, 7ia- 
liom.d, public work, so important in every point of view, not only to the 
west, but to the east, north and south, will awaken that spirit of inquiry 
and liberal action which has ever distinguished, and, we trust, ever will 
distinguish, the enlightened and potriotic American statesman. 

Nothing but a deep regard for the public welfare and a love of truth 
and justice, has induced us to prefer this memorial ; and with like senti- 
ments we siiall continue to hope, that we shall be heard and answered in 
Hbe spirit of patriotism and of justice. 



Executive Office, Ohio, 

Columbus, February 10, 1830. 

Sir : In compliance \vitli the request of the General Assembly of this 
State, as expressed in their resolutions of the 12th ultimo, I herewith 
transmit to you duplicate copies of a preamble and resolutions, relating 
to the Cumberland road bridge across the Ohio river, at Wheeling. 

Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

ROBERT LUCAS. 
The Hon. S. Mason, 

Member of Corigress. 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 7 

Preamble and resolutions relating to the Cumberland road bridge^ 

at Wheeling. 

Whereas^ the peopl(3 of the State of Ohio feel a deep interest in tlic 
extension and completion of the Cumberland road, and especially in the 
erection of a l)iidge across the Ohio river at Whcelincr, to connect the 
eastern section of said road, which now terminates at the eastern bank of 
said riv'er, witii the western section thereof, which comriiences at the western 
bank of .said river, leavino^ a chasm in said road of nearly a mile, which 
is at times impassable. And lohareas, it is believed by the General As- 
sembly to be as much the duty of tX\c Government, resulting from its- 
compact with Ohio and the of^her v/estern States, to erect such a bridge, 
as it was to commence and construct said road. A?id lohereas, the- 
erection of a bridge at Wheeling, on a plan which will insure conve- 
nience, safety, and permanency, will be of immeasurable public and 
national utility. Therefore, 

Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Geiieral As- 
sembly of the iState of Ohio, That onr Senators in Congress be instructed,and 
oar Representatives be re;|uested. to nse their endeavors to procure further 
and more ample appropriations of the public money, for the continuation and 
more speedy construction and completion of the said Cumberland road, 
and for the purpose of erecting a permanent bridge across the Ohio- 
river, at Wheeling, Va. to connect the eastern with the western section of 
said road. 

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to forward duplicate copies; 
of the foregoing resolution and preamble to each of our Senators and 
Representatives in Congress, and also to the President and Vice Presi- 
dent of the United States, to the Secretary of State, Secretary at War^ 
Secretary of the Navy, and the Postmaster General. 

WILLIAM SAWYER, 
^Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

ELIJAH VANCE, 

Speaker of the Senate. 
January 12, 1336. 



State of Ohio, Secretary's Opfick, 

Columbus, February 9, 1836- 
I certify, that the foregoing preamble and resolutions is a correct copvr 
of the original roll on fde in my office, 

B. HINKSON, Secretary of Slat4u 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 

In the House of Representatives U. S. March 12, 1830. 



To tnC honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States in Congress assembled : 

The memorial oi" ^^ subscribers, who were appointed managers, by an 
act of the General ^^ssembly of Virginia, incorporating Noah Zane, and 
his associates, a company to erect a toll bridge across the Ohio river at 
or near the town of Wheeling", 

Respectfuli,y represents : 

That the great increase of travelling on the ^-umberland road requires 
that the obstructions presented by the Ohio river, be" (7^viated by a bridge. 
That, with a view of testing the practicability of raising the Si.r'ck necessary 
for the erection of such bridge, your memorialists have caused bcoks to be 
opened, and are noAv receiving subscriptions. But such is the \rant of 
capital m this country, that but few men can spare any considerable slL'^U 
from his business ; and your memorialists are satisfied that, without the 
aid of the General Government, a sufficient sum for the erection of the pro- 
posed bridge cannot be raised, although it is believed that the stock will be 
productive. The capital stock of the company is fixed by the charter at 
two hundred thousand dollars. Your memorialists respectfully ask your 
honorable body to direct a subscription, under the charter of said company, 
of four thousand shares, which will be one half of the capital stock of the 
company. Your memorialists are induced to name that number, from the 
belief that the balance will be as much as they will be able otherwise to dis- 
pose of. Besides expediting the transportation of the mail, and greatly 
facilitating the communication between the East and the West, your memo- 
rialists believe that such an hivestment on the part of the Government, as 
is above asked for, would be both safe and profitable stock : and, as in duty 
hound, your memorialists will ever pray. 

NOAH ZANE, SAMUEL SPRIGG. 

ARCHIBALD WOODS, JAMES BARNS, 

MOSES SHEPHERD, J. CALDWELL. 



ACT OF VIRGINIA. 

An ACT incorporating a company to erect a toll-bridge over the Ohio rivet, 

at Wheeling. 

[Passed February 17, 1816.] 

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That Noah Zane and his 
associates, shall be, and are hereby, made a body politic and corporate, for 
the purpose of erecting a bridge across the Ohio river, at or near the town 
of Wlieeling, and shall be called and known by the name and style of " The 
Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company," and as such may sue and be 
sued, miplead and be impleaded, with perpetual succession and a common 
seal, and generally to do and execute all matters, acts, and things, which a 
corporation or body corporate, in law, may or can do and lawfully execute. 

2. The capital stock of the said company shall consist of two hundred 
thousand dollars, which shall be divided into eiglit thousand shares of 
twenty-five dollars each, and disposed of in the manner herein provided, by 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 9 

the managers herein after named. Books shall be opened for the sale of 
shares at such times and places, and under the superintendence of such 
persons, as tlie managers may direct. Every person who shall subscribe 
for one or more shares shall thenceforth be deemed a member of the said 
company. The amount due upon each share shall be paid by the sub 
scribers in gold or silver, or in banic notes circulating currently in the States 
of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The sum of one per cent, on each 
share shall be paid to the managers, or such person as they may direct, 
within tliirty days after the time the whole amount of stock shall be sub- 
scribed : and the residue of the amount due on each share shall be paid in 
such instalments, at such times, and to such persons, as the managers for 
the time being may direct. No one instalment shall exceed two dollars 
and fifty cents on each share ; nor shall any instalment be called for but 
upon thirty days' previous notice, published in some newspaper printed in 
St. Clairsville or Wheeling, and there shall be at least thirty days between 
the payment of each instalment. And on failure or non-payment of the in- 
stalments on any share, in the proportions, and at the periods, in which the 
said managers may require, the said share shall become forfeited to the use 
of the said company, together with such sum or quotas as may have been 
paid on accoimt of such share. 

3. Be it further enacted, That a general meeting of the stoclcholders 
shall annually be holden at Wheeling; on the first Monday in June, at which 
time th(!re shall be elected, from among the stockholders, a board of man- 
agers, consisting of thirteen persons, for the purpose of conducting the 
affairs. of the said company, who shall hold their office until their successors 
are appointed and organized into a board by the election of a president ; and, 
on the first Saturday next succeeding their election, the said board of 
managers, or any nine of them, shall meet at their regular place of sitting, 
and elect one of their niunber as president, who shall preside in all their de- 
hberations, and subscribe all their proceedings with his name, and shall, 
moreover, appoint a clerk, whose duty it shall be to attend all their meet- 
ings, and to keep a journal of all their acts and proceedings, which shall at 
all times be open to the inspection of any member of the company. Vacan- 
cies in the board of managers shall be filled by appointments to be made by 
the remaining managers, for the time being, and the person or persons 
elected, shall act as manager or managers, until the next election. 

4. If from any cause a general meeting shall not be held upon the day 
appointed therefor, it may be held upon any subsequent day which the 
board of managers, or any seven of them, may appoint. No person shall 
be eligible as a manager who is not a citizen of the United States, and a 
stockiiolder to the amount of at least ten shares ; and the managers shall all 
reside within the counties of Ohio and Belmont. 

5. The election of managers shall be by ballot ; and, previous to every 
election, the board of managers shall appoint three stockholders, not being 
managers, to conduct the election, who shall receive and count the ballots, 
and declare, in writing, under their hand, the persons elected to serve as 
managers for the ensuing year. 

Each stockholder holding not more than two shares, shall be entitled to 
two votes ; for every two shares, and not exceeding ten shares, to one vote ; 
for every three shares above ten, and not exceeding thirty, to one vote ; for 
eveiy five shares above sixty, and not exceeding one hundred, one vote ; 
for every six shares above one hundred, one vote. All votes may be given 
by proxy, but stockholders only shall serve as proxies. 



10 [ Rep. No. 672. ] 

7. The board of managers shall have power ^o appoint such officers as 
they may deem proper for conducting the business and concerns of the 
company, and may require such security for the performance of tlieir duties, 
and allow them such compensation for their services, as they may deem 
reasonable. 

8. Any seven of the managers, the president being one, shall form a board 
for the transaction of busmess ; and, in the absence of the president, the 
board, consisting of at least nine members, shall appoint a president pro 
tempore, to act during such absence. In case of the death, resignation, or 
removal of the president, the board of managers may appoint a president to 
ftll the vacancy; and the said board shall have power to remove the presi- 
dent, or other officer, or any member of the board, from office, for neglect 
or inattention to the affiiirs of the company, or any other misconduct in 
office. But no such removal shall be made but by the concurring votes of 
three-fourths of the whole number of members composing the board. 

9. And for the purpose of carrying into effect the intentions and objects 
of the said company, Archibald Woods, Noah Zane, Samuel Sprigg, Joseph 
Caldwell, John White, Moses Shepherd, Notley Hays, Benjamin Ruggles, 
George Paull, James Barnes, and Elijah Wood, are hereby appointed "man- 
agers of the same, wlio shall hold their offices until their successors are duly 
appointed and organized into a board. 

10. No contract entered into by the board of managers sliall be binding 
upon the company, unless signed by the president, and countersigned by 
the clerk. All obligations entered into on behalf of the company, shall bind 
their joint funds only, and shall contain an express reservation that the 
members are not held liable in their individual capacities. 

11. TJje board of managers shall have full power and authority, in be- 
half of the company, to make all contracts, and employ all persons, neces- 
sary to effect the objects of the said company, and sh«ll keep fair and accu- 
rate accounts of all their proceedings, which they shall exhibit to the stock- 
holders at tlieir general meeting annually. 

12. The funds of the company shall be kept by a treasurer, to be ap 
pointed for that purpose by the board of managers; and all moneys belong- 
ing to the company, shall be paid over to the treasurer by the board of 
managers, for which his receipt shall be taken and filed, and the amount 
shall be charged to him in a book, to be kept for that purpose by the board 
of managers ; and all moneys due from the company shall be paid by tlie 
treasurer, upon the order of the board of managers, which order shall be 
signed by. the president, and countersigned by the clerk. The books of the 
treasurer shall, at all times, be open to the inspection of any member of the 
company, and at least three months, and oftener if required, the said trea- 
surer shall exhibit a statement of his account to the inspection of the board 
of managers. 

13. So soon as the said bridge shall be completed, it shall be lawful for 
the said company to demand and receive the following tolls and rates for 
passing the same;' that is to say: for a man, horse, mule, or work ox^ 
twelve and a half cents ; for all riding carriages, wagons, and carts, twenty- 
five cents per wheel ; for every head of neat cattle, six and a quarter cents; 
and for every sheep, hog, goat, or lamb, two cents, and no more. If the 
•collector of the said tolls shall demand or receive from any person or per- 
sons, for passing the said bridge, more than is hereby allowed, he shall, for 
every such offence, forfeit and pay to the party grieved, the toll^ demanded 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 11 

and received, and Hve dollars, recoverable by warrant, before any justice of 
the peace witiiin this Commonwealth ; and in case of his inability to pay, 
the said company shall be liable to the like fines, recoverable and appropri- 
utiid in like manner. And any person or persons attempting forcibly to 
pass the said bridge without paying tolls, or refusing to pay the same after 
having passed, shall be liable to the like fines, recoverable in the like man- 
ner, to the use of the said company. 

14. when the said bridge is completed, the board of managers shall 
appoint a suitable person to collect and account for the tolls ; and after de- 
fraying all necessary and proper ex])eiises, the said board of managers 
shall, at the end of every six months, declare tlip dividend due to each 
shareholder, which shall be paid by the treasurer, upon the order of the 
board of managers. 

15. The shares of stock in the said company, shall be transferable, and 
.transfer shall only l)e made in the mnuner which the board of managers 
may prescribe. 

16. Be it further enacted. That, upon {:()ia})leiing the said bridge from 
either bank of the said river to Zane's island therein, the said company 
shall be entitled, and they arc hereby authorized to demand and receive 
half tfie tolls hereby grmited. 

17. Be it- further enacted., That the said corporation, at every general 
meeting of the stockholders, shall have power to make and ordain all such 
by-laws, rules, and regulations, not contrary to the laws and constitutions 
o't this State or of the United States, as may be necessary for tlie well 
ordering the business, officers, and servants thereof. 

18. And he it further enacted, That the arches of the said bridge shall 
be erected so high above the usual high floods heretofore known in the said 
river, as, at all tmies during such high floods, to admit the safe passage un- 
der them of all fiat-bottomed boats and rafts. And there shall be made, 
from the abutment next the Virginia shore, a drawbridge at least forty feet 
wide, which the said company shall at all times attend by their agents or 
servants, and raise the same, free from expense to navigators, to permit the 
safe passage of all such craft or vessels as at any time cannot otherwise 
safely pass. And at all times during the night, good and sufficient lamps 
shall be lighted and sus])endcd above each end of the said drawbridge, on 
the upper side thereof, for the information of such as may be passing up or 
down tlie river in the night season." And if the said company shall fail to 
comply Avith all the provisions and conditions in this section contained, so 
that any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, shall sustain damage 
thereby, the said corporation shall be liable therefor, recoverable by action 
or actions uj)on the case. 

19. And be it further enacted, That if the said bridge shall be so con- 
structed as to injure the navigation of the said river, the said bridge shall 
be treated as a public nuisance, and shall be liable to abatement, upon the 
same principles, and in the same manner, that other public nuisances are. 

. 20. This act shall be in force as soon as the assent of the Legislature of 
the State of Ohio to its provisions shall have been obtained. 



12 [ Rep. No. 672. ] 

ACT OF OHIO. 

An ACT giving the assent of this State to the eroction of a toll-bridge 
across the Ohio river at Wheeling. 

Whereas the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia did, 
on the 17th day of February, anno Domini 1816, pass an act, entitled "An 
act incorporating a company to erect a toll-bridge over the Ohio river at 
Wheeling," by which act it is provided and declared that the same should 
be in force so soon as the assent of the Legislature of the State of Ohio to 
its provisions should be obtained : Therefore, 

Be it enacted by the G&tieral Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the 
Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company be, and they are hereby recog- 
nised and declared to be a body corporate and politic within this State, with 
all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the restrictions, of the act 
of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, entitled " An 
act incorporating a company to erect a toll-bridge over" the Ohio river at 
Wheeling.'' to the provisions of which act the General Assembly of the 
State of Ohio do hereby assent as fully and completely as if the same were 
herein particularly recited : Provided, The same shall be completed within 
ten years from and after the passage of this act : Provided, also. That it 
shall at no time be lawful for said company to use their funds for the pur- 
pose of banking ; and if the said company shall at any time apply any of 
their funds to the use or purpose of banking, they shall forfeit all the be- 
nefit and privilejres conferred by this act. 

THOMAS KIRKER, 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
ABRAHAM SHEPHERD, , 

December 30, 1816. Speaker of the Senate. 

By an act of the Legislature of Ohio, passed at the late session, the fore- 
going is revived and continued in force for the term of ten years longer. 



In pursuance of an act of the Legislature of Virginia, passed on the 17tli 
day of February, 1816, incorporating Noah Zane and his associates a com- 
pany to erect a toll-bridge across the Ohio river, at or near the town of 
Wheeling, we, Archibald Woods, Noah Zane, James Barnes, Joseph 
Caldwell, Notley Hays, Moses Shepherd, and Samuel Sprigg, managers 
named in said act. having convened in the town of Wheeling, this 26th 
day of February, 1830, and organized ourselves into a Board of Managers, 
for the purpose of carrying into effect the objects of the said act of incorpo- 
ration, and having appointed Noah Zane chairman, and Morgan Nelson 
secretary of the Board : On motion, 

Resolved, That it is expedient, forthwith, to offer for sale the stock of the 
said Bridge Company. 

Resolved, That M. Nelson, John-Goshorn, Thomas Woods, John M'Lure, 
and T. P. Robinson, act as agents to receive subscriptions for said stock in 
the town of Wheehng ; 

That James Caldwell, Steel Smith. William B. Hubbard, and John Patter- 
son, act m like manner at St. Clairsville ; 

That James Barnes, John Davenport, and B. H. Meckle, act in like man- 
ner at Bamesville ; 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 13 

That Joseph Gill, Robert Patterson, Wilham Hamihon, and James Up- 
degraif. act in hkc manner at Slount Pleasant ; 

And that Walter B. Beebe, Thomas Bingham, and John Pritchard, act 
in like manner at Cadiz. 

Resolved. That it is expedient to apply by memorial to Congress to take 
a portion of the stock of said company ; and that Samuel Sprigg, Archibald 
Woods, and Joseph Caldwell, be a committee to prepare such memorial, and 
that the same be subscribed by the managers present, and forwarded to our 
Representatives in Congress. 

Resolved, That Philip E. Thomas, Luke Tiernan, John Patterson, 
Thomas Ellicott, and Talbott Jones, act as agents to receive subscriptions to 
the stock of the said company, in the city of Baltimore. 

Moses Morehead, Willis Siliman, and E. Buckingham at Zanesville ; 
And Gustavus Swan, Lincoln Goodale, William Mail, Ralph Osborne, 
and William Dougherty, at Columbus. 

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the managers 
present, and countersigned by the secretary. 

NOAH ZANE, 
SAM. SPRIGG, 
JAS. BARNES, 
J. CALDWELL, 
A. WOODS. 
M. SHEPHERD, 
NOTLEY HAYS. 
M. Nelson, ^ecy. 



Washington, January '^0, 1836. 

Sir: The present application to Congress, to erect a bridge over the 
Ohio river at Wheeling, induces me to present to the consideration of your 
committee, the following statement : 

In 1816, the Legislatures of Virginia and Ohio, incorpor.ated a company 
{o erect a bridge over the Ohio river, and appointed commissioners to car- 
ry the act intoeifect; being the owner of one-half of "Zane's island" and 
the ferry privileges uttaclied ther^o, and supposing that the Government 
did not intend to connect the National road by a bridge across the Ohio, 
and furtlicr delay would prevent a majority of the commissioners from act- 
ing, books of subscription were opened, and tlie ,*!200,tl0(l required by the 
charter was subscribed in shares of $25, one-half of which was taken by 
myself and family, and the residue, with the exception of 130 shares, taken 
by my late brother Noah's family. 

A contract has been made with Mr. Lebarron, for the bridge over the 
.strean), on the west side of the island, at $68,000, its length (the whole 
width of the stream) 670 feet ; breadth 40 feet, with two carriage ways, 
tv.'o spaces for rail ways and foot way ; of stone abutments (solid nia.sonry) 
and piers, and wooden superstructure, with spans of 223^ feet ; the arches 
to be 60 feet above low \vater mark; this branch seldom used by boats. 

Tlie eastern branch is 770 feet, presenting, on the eastern side, a steep 
baJik of 100 feet in height, on which the town was first built ; the bank on 
the island on which it is supposed the bridge would abut, is 47 feet 
above low water mark, and the arches would be made 75 or 80 feet above 



14 [ Rep. No. 672. ] 

the same mark, leaving sufficient room for boats of the largest class to pass, 
at the highest stages of water ; both streams present a rock, very little be- 
low the gravel, that will only require the necessary levelling to erect foun- 
dations upon, and at a very small expense in making coffer dams ; the 
usual high flood is about 40 feet; that of 1832, the highest known to the 
present inhabitants, 49 feet 6 inches. 

From my knowledge of the wish of the present stockholders, and the 
owners of the realty affected by this improvement, I have no doubt that 
they will surrender to the Government all their rights under the charter, upon 
being allowed for materials already procured for the western branch bridge, 
and such sum as may be agreed upon to the proprietors, for the release of 
ferry privileges, to be determined in such manner as Congress may pre- 
scribe. 

If the Government shall elect to only build a bridge over the eastern 
branch. I am authorized to say all rights under the charter will be surrendered, 
as well as all ferry privileges attached to that branch, and if, hereafter, it 
choose to purchase the right of the company to the western bridge, (which 
by contract is to be finished by 15th December) the same will be transfered 
upon equitable terms. 

I am with much esteem and respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

DANIKL ZANE. 
Hon. Charles F. Mercer, 

Chairman of Com. on Roads and Canals. 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 



15 



BRIDGE ACROSS THE POTOMAC AT WASHINGTON. 

ESTIMA TE of the cost of constructing a loire suspension bridge across 
the Potomac at Washington. 

The following- estimate of the quantity and value of the wood and iron 
is referred, to in the unity of length of the floor and of the cables of support ; 
so tiiat the quantity of wood, given in the second column, is the number of 
feet, in board measure, reduced to a length of one foot, measured along 
tlie floor ; and, in lilce manner, the quantity of iron is reduced to the unity 
of length, or lineal foot measured along the cables. 



Wood work. 


Cost of timber 
per thousand 
feet. 


No. of feet in 
board measure. 


Cost per lineal 
foot, including 
labor of fram- 
ing, raising, &c. 


There will be 114 transversal beams, of which the dimensions 
should be such a.s to oU'er the necessary force, without load- 
ing the cables with a useless weight of materials j in the cen- 
tre the\' may measure 7 bj' IG inches - - . - 
These transversal pieces are covered along the carriaoeway, 
ftrst, with a cuurse of planking three inches thick, of oak, 
laid longitudinally, or parallel with the direction of the bridge 
And this planking is covered with an outer course one inch 

thick, laid parallel with tlie transversal beams 
The footways to be formed of oaken plank, two inches thick - 
Eiifht string pieces, placed above and below the transversal beams 
Railing, or parapet --.-.. 


tl8 00 

17 00 

17 00 

17 00 

18 Ot) 


69 

81 

27 
18 
36 


SI 25 

1 38 

46 
30 
63 
40 




$4 44 


Iron. 


Cost per pound 
of iron, includ- 
ing work, &c. 




Cost of ii'on per 
lineal foot, in- 
cluding labor. 


Great cables of suspension. In estimating the cost of this im- 
portant article, every expense is included: the value of the 
wire, freight, commissions, labor, paint, oil, and varnish, are 
all carefully considered. They offer a section of 70 inches - 
Mean length of the wire cords of suspension, by which the floor 

is attached to the cables, 2 feet, area Ih inches 
284 bolts, 5 feet long, and 1 inch in diameter, of which the 
weight will be 124 pounds ----- 

Burrs and shields ------ 

284 bolts, 2 feet long, f diameter, with bun's and sliields 
94 bars, 4 feet long, 1 inch square, to .support the railing 
Bars to prevent the slipping of the cables over tlie heads of the 
piers, reduced 10 the unity of length - - - - 

Nails and spikes -...-. 


,^0 12 

12 

/ 

8 
8 
G 

7 
7 


230 

30 

6.3 
0..5 
1.0 
•2.0 

n.o 

•2.0 


S27 60 
3 60 

44 
4 
8 

12 

77 
14 




$32 79 



16 [ Rep. No. 672. J 



MASONRY. 



From the plinth of the impost, supporting the arch of the car- 
riage way, to the summit of the entablature, 2,400 perches, 
at $4 50 - - - - - - - $10,800 

From low water mark to the level of the flooring, 2,38Q perches, 

at $3 - - - - , .. 7140 



In the abutments there are 900 perches, at $5 $4,500 

And 3,600 perches, at $2 75 - - - - 9,900 



$17,940 



Cost of abutments - - - $ 14,400 

WING WALLS. 

800 perches, at $2 .... §1,600 

POINTS d' ATT ACHE. 

600 perches, at $2 50 
1,200 do at 2 

AGGREGATE. 

4,940 lineal fleet flooring, at $4 44 -• 
5,400 do iron at 32 79 - 

8 piers at $17,940 

Abutments ----- 
Wing walls ----- 
Points d'attache _ .. _ - 



Such is the estimate of th(! cost of that portion of the bridge above the 
surface of the river at low water. 

As we do not know the nature of the bottom, I will estimate the cost of 
laying the foundations, upon the supposition that, after removing a few 
feet of mud or sand, a soil will be found of sufficient consistence to permit 
the use oi piling : whilst rock, clay, and gravel, or any substance which 
<3f itseH would be a foundation sufficiently secure without piling, is too far 
below the bed of the river to justify the builder in penetrating to it. 

For an estimate of this nature, we may assume nine feet as the average 
depth of water ; and we shall require for each pier, 

550 perches of masonry, at $3 - - - $1,650 

240 oaken or beech piles, at 2 50 - - - 600 

1,400 lineal feet of oak, for sleepers, at 12 - - - 168 

480 bolts, weighing each 5 lbs. at 7 • - - 168 

12,000 feet of oak or beech planking, at 15 .... 180 

500 pounds spikes, at 7 - - - 35 



$1,500 
2,400 


$21,933 60 
177,066 00 


143.520 00 


14,400 00 
1,600 00 


3,900 00 


$362,419 60 



Ooflfer dam, baking, &c. --..--- 1,000 
Or, for the eight piers - - - $30,408 



$3,801 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 17 

Which estimate of the probable cost of estabhshins: tlie foundations, 
added to the sum of $362,410 60. gives, for the estimates of the cost of the 
entire bridge, $392,827 60. 

Respecttullv submitted. 

^ • CHARLES ELLET, Jr. 



Bristol, March 19, 1833. 
Hon. Louis M'Lane, Secretary of the Treasiuy : 

Sir : It is .some months since I offered for your consideration apian of a 
suspension bridge, proposed to be erected across the Potomac, at Wash- 
ington. As, in consequence of the recent appropriation made by Congress 
towards that object, the subject may again receive your attention, I am 
induced, by the importance of the question, the confidence I feel in the 
system I have proposed, and the hope that its adoption in so conspicu- 
ous a place may accelerate the introduction of the principles in bridge 
architecture on whicfi it is founded, to address you again on that 
subject. 

The peculiar plan before you is altogether novel in this country ; and it 
is only on the rivers of France that the true principles of the system have 
been developed, and the advantages of its application fully witnessed. And, 
although it must be admitted that it might be perfectly adapted to the pur- 
poses of Elurope, and yet be in every respect inadequate to the wants of 
America, 1 think it cannot but be conceded that the opinion entertained of 
the system in the country where it is best understood, is, at least, a fair 
commentary on its merits. 

[n France it has already superseded the use of every other description of 
bridges. In the years 1830 -'1^1. I examined ten or twelve which had been 
recently thrown across the Rhone, besides a great number on the other 
principal rivers of that country, and found that the opinion of the })eo- 
ple, of the mechanics and citizens, entirely coincides with that expressed 
m the reports and essays of the most distinguished architects and engi- 
neers. They view the introduction of this system with universal accord, 
as an effective means of ameliorating the internal communication of the 
country. It was regarded as such by the late (Jonseiller d'Etat and 
Directeur General des Fonts et Chaupeos, M. Becquey, when in 1821 
he appointed on enu^inecr to proceed to England, and examine the chain 
bridges which had alre-idy been constructed there, and afterwards autho- 
TJzed tho erection of the '■■ Pouts des Invalidcs,"' on that iJrinciple, across 
tiie Seine, at Paris. 

The merit of economy, and decided superiority in point of durability, 
liave never been denied them, even by those whose interest in pro- 
moting the continuance of the wooden arch or lattice bridge has caused 
them to oppose their introduction. 

The only objections I have ever heard advanced, are the danger that 
might result from the breaking of a link or bolt forming the chain, and 
the inconvenience arising from their supposed want of rigidit}'. The 
former objection, without examining its validity, is obviated in the plan 
i propose, by the substitution of wire cables in the place of the usual 
chains of bar iron ; the peculiar advantages of which substitution I endea- 
2 



18 [ Rep. No. 672. ] 

vored to expose in the communication which was forwarded along with the 
design of the bridge. The latter objection, the want, or supposed want, of 
rigidity, is one tliat has in no instance been urged by any intelligent person 
who has witnessed such a structure, judiciously designed, on a large scale, 
or hy any one who is capable of investigating the laws of their motion and 
equilibrium. 

The tact t!iat tliey liave been, and are, employed with success and satis- 
faction in the heart of such a populous city as Paris, and in the vicinity of 
London, is sufficient to refute any idea of danger or inconvenience incident 
to their adoption. These bridges, as all others that liave come under my 
observation during a long and laborious investigation of the subject, although 
not secured by any auxiliary means, in addition to what is due to the 
natural principles of their equilibrium, are sufficiently fixed and stable for 
every purpose to which they can be applied. In fact, it will be confidently 
affirmed by every engineer, whose experience will authorize him to express 
an opinion on the subject. tJiat the oscillations and vibrations of a suspen- 
sion bridge, com})ared with the motions of an ordinary v/ooden bridge 
of equal span, and })roduced by a disturbing force of equal intensity, 
are not only less considerable, but infinitely less dangerous. For, from 
whatever cause may proceed the quivering motion visible in a suspen- 
sion bridge, or the slight changes of which the figure of the chains is 
susceptible, we are always assured that it will return to its natural position 
immediately on the removal of the disturbing force. 

But a wooden bridge, whatever be tfie peculiarities of its construction, 
will, after a very short period, exhibit permanent changes in its disposition ; 
tlie arches will bend, tlie roof will present alternate elevations and depres- 
.sions, and the floor will exhibit tlie undulating appearance of most of the 
bridges on the Susquehannah. Nor are these symptoms of danger to be 
disregarded ; for the cause which produced the first change of form will 
cause it to increase ; and the ratio of its increase augments with the change 
that has been effected. And for this reason, there are few, even among the 
most approved bridges in this countiy, that could be occupied without 
danger by a body of troops closely drawn up. 

As it is the duty o(" the architect always to look to the future, there is 
.another consideration connected with the plan before us, which should noi 
be disregarded. In the event of a war, the preservation of an army, oi'the 
success of a campaign, might depend on the destruction of the bridge com- 
municating with the capital. And whether it were the interest of the 
•«nemy or the country that required its overthrow, the probability is, tiiat 
the shortest and most effectual means would be resorted to in order to ren- 
der it impassable. In eitlier case, if the structure were of wood, it w^ould 
in all probability be destroyed by fire. 

But, with the system of suspension, as fire would not be effectual, and the 
destruction of the cables would be !al)orious, and as an arch might he dropt 
in the space of fifteen minutes, the bridge inight be preserved when nothing 
else would be respected. 

Although, in case of this nature, the opinion should not be influsnced by 
considerations of beauty or nppearance, it may be observed that there is no 
design which could create a deeper impression of strength, security, and 
grandeur, or, in short, more worthy of the situation, and the presence of the 
ctipi'al, tban a design predicated on similar principles. 

Though the peculiar dispositions and arrangement of the parts of the 
plan before you may require many and various modifications to adapt it 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 19 

better to the locality and tfie preservation of the navigation of the river, 
which may not be evident at this distance from the site, yet I b^jlieve that 
no difficulty can occur whicii may not be surmounted without any material 
deviation from the original design. 

Apologizing for the liberty I have taken in again urging this subject on 
your attention. 

I have the honor to be, 

With great respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

CHAS. ELLET, Jr. 



Bri.«tol, Pa. April 25, 1833. 
Srii : It is some montlis since 1 forwarded to you a plan of a wire sus- 
pension bridge, designed to be erected across the Potomac. As the plan of 
that structure has been decided on. I presume the design of which 1 speak 
will no longor he required. I. would, therefore, thank you to have it trans- 
mitted to my address as soon as convenient. 

It was sent rolled upon a cylinder of wood, so that the drawing might be 
preserved from injury ; if returned in the same manner, I would appre- 
ciate the favor. 

T have the honor to be, respectfully, 

Your obedient ssrvant, 

CHAS. ELLET, .Tr. 
Tlon I/OLis MLane, 

>^r,cretary of the Treasury 



Bristol, P.^. May 2, 1833. 

.*Sir: Circu)ns(ances oblige me again to trouble you with a letter, and 
request tiiat the design of a suspension bridge, which I forwarded to you in 
compliance with the Treasury advertisement of last October, be transmitted 
to me as soon as convenient. I expect to sail for Europe in a very short 
time, and am desirous to collect my drawings previous to my departure. 

1 addressed a letter to you on this subject about two weeks since, and 
not having received either the plan or an answer, I presume the letter has 
miscarried. 

Respectfully, sir. 

Your obedient servant, 

CHAS. ELLET, Jr. 
Hon. L)ui.s M-Lane, 

i^ecretary of the Ttq isury. 



^0 [ Rep. No. 672. ] 

DOCUMENTS 

Laid before the Houi,e by the Chairman of the Committee oil Roads and 
Canals, and ordered io he printed in connection with Doc. No. 374. 

New York, April 3, 1834. 

Dear Sir : It is witli the sincerest thanks for the kind manner in which 
j''ou have expressed your wilhngness to examine the subject which I intro- 
duced to your attention, as well as your disposition to be of service to me 
in my professional pursuits, that I acknowledge my obligations, and for- 
ward to you the design of which I spoke. 

On re-examining the plan and tlie communication to the Secretary of 
the Treasury, with which it was accompanied, it appears to me that it 
would be better to send you a copy of that letter, which contains the prin- 
cipal arguments in favor of the system, than, by abridging it, to diminish 
the force of the facts which it contains. Another reason for sending it in 
its original state, (with the exception of some trifling modifications I have 
thouoht it well to make,) is the adaptation of the remarks to the plan in 
question; for it is right to observe that I had not all the information which 
I now possess, at the time the plan was drawn ; and I have very little doubt 
it could be much improved by various alterations, if I had any inducement 
again to devote my whole attention to the subject. 

Though 1 have exhibited some anxiety for the success of this design, I 
have very little expectation that it will meet the approbation of Congress. 
For. although the step in the progress of improvement from the stone arch 
lo the suspension bridge is not less than that from the huge Egyptian lintel 
to the boldest bridges constructed by Eennie and Perronnet, we have not 
before us, in this country, the examples which are requisite to render the 
proof of the fact incontrovertible. We have no stone arches on a grand 
scale, to serve as a warning to those who would undertake to build 43 piers 
in such a soil as the mud and sand which here constitute the bottom 
of the Potomac, and show the cost of forming the centering and turning 
the arches of cut stone between them ; nor have we a single suspension 
bridge judiciously designed, and well executed, to furnish us with palpable 
evidence of the faciiity with which the same difficulty might be surmounted, 
by a resort to the proper means. While, to adopt the design which has 
been agitated, of a bridge in masonry, is going back to the days when the 
labor of thousands and the wealth of a nation could be commanded to sup- 
ply the void created by the absence of science and skill, it is not in my 
power to adduce facts sufficiently strong to force convi<:tion upon the 
minds of those whose pursuits have not made tliem familiar with the 
subject. 

Ido not send you a cojjy of the estimate which accompanied tJie follow- 
itig communication, because 1 had not all the data for making one, at the 
time it was written, which 1 now possess. And when I glance at the 
array of pages which you will have before you, I really hesitate to increase 
it by the addition of oven so important a part as that of the information 
necessary in drawing a comparison between the \'arions projects you may 
have to consider. If. however, an estimate in detail be desirable, I will 
furnish it with pleasure in the coin-se of a few days after the receipt of 
your expressing a wish to have one. The cost will be, and i consider the 
estimate liberal, about five hundred thousand dollars. 

it is possible there may be many objections to my design, which, at this 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 21 

distance from the only point where interest is felt on the subject, it is im- 
possible for me to anticipate. Yet 1 do not doubt tliat the plan might be 
modified to accommodate any really necessary object, without materially 
increasing the expense, or diminishing the utility or convenience of tlie 
work. 

I know not what these objections may be, and Av^ill not attempt to combat 
imaginary ditliculties that may never occur. 

The impressions wiiich most persons with whom I converse have received 
on this subject, appear to be drawn from tiie chain bridges they have been 
accustomed to see in various parts of the country ; and consequently, 
they a.scribe to the system the imperfections which are to be attributed only 
tO'the weak and nnskiUul manner in which it is applied. 

We must bear in mind the fact that o suspension bridge owes its sta- 
bility to its weight ; and that, notwithstanding a light structure may bend 
like a reed, a heavier one, submitted to the same disturbing force, may be 
motionless. 

Tliere is no cause to apprehend danger in consequence of the great span 
of the arches; for, though the stress upon the cables will be great, we 
must make their strength proportionate. 

Mr. Brunei has recently constructed an arch on this principle across 
the Avon, of 700 feet span : and Mr. Telford, after erecting the Menai 
bridge, oftered a plan for an arch of 1,200 feet opening, across the Mersey 
at Runcorn ; and, if the object of the work were sufficient to authorize it, 
no engineer should hesitate throwing an arch for a suspension bridge over 
a space of 2,000 feet. 

Without fatiguing yon longer with my opinions on a subject in which 
I may feel, perhaps, sufficiently interested to be liable to prejudice, I sub- 
mit the plan and description to your inspection; confident that your opinion 
will be the result of a candid investigation, and that you will not, as too 
many have done, condenm it because of its novelty. 
I have, sir, the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

CHAkS. ELLET, Jr. 
Hon. C. F. Mercer, M. C. 



Brlstol, Pa, October 6, 1832. 
To the Hon. Louis M'Lane, 

^ea-etary of the Treasury. 

Sir: 1 transmit by to-day's mail a design of a bridge across the Poto- 
mac, at Washington, prepared from the data contained in the Treasury 
advertisement of 21st August. The time I have had at my disposal since 
I received that paper, and a profile of the bottom of the river, which were 
politely furnished me by Colonel Kearney, has not been sufficient to per- 
mit me to represent on the plan many very important parts of the struc- 
ture. 

I have be(in obliged to confine myself to those objects which are essen- 
tially necessary to convey an idea of what would be the appearance of the 
bridge when finished, leaving those of minor importance, or what relate 
to the praciical detail and lire execution of the work, to be communicated^ 
in case my plan should be adopted, at a fiUure period. 



S'2 [ Rep. No. 672. ] 

Yet I believe there is nothiHg neglected which would be requisite in de- 
termining the comparative merit of the bridge I propose ; or, if any,. I shall 
endeavor to supply it in the observations I shall hereafter make on the 
pecidiarities and general properties of the system. 

In general, when an architect is called upon to lurnisFi a design for a 
construction, he is to be governed by the purposes the edifice is intended to 
subserve, the materials which are at his disposal, and the funds that are to 
be applied to the object. But in the case before us the dimensions of the 
bridge, and certain other conditions, are prescribed ; while tlie limit of the 
cost, and the character of the structure, are submitted to his discretion. It 
becomes, then, necessary for him to pass in review the various approved 
metliods of construction, and ascertain in what respects they are well 
adapted, and in what iiuipplicable, to the present purpose. Having thus 
satisfied myself of the inadequacy, of various causes, of the bridges usually 
constructed over the rivers of this country, I have concluded to offer for 
your considei'ation a design of a suspension bridge — a sysicm which has 
recently acquired the highest degree of popularity in Europe, by the facil- 
ity witli which it may be erected, the symmetry of its proportions, and its 
decided eventual superiority, with respect to economy, over bridges of 
every other description. I have not ndopted the suspension bridge because 
of its imposing appearance, the grandeur and beauty of its nine successive 
arches, (properties inherent in the system,) or the apparent triumph of the 
arts over tlie obstacles of nature, visible in its execution ; thougli these are 
considerations to which we miglit attach some importance in designing a 
bridge to facilitate the entrance to the capital ; but it has been my endeavor 
to keep constantly in view, as objects of paramount importance, the preser- 
vation of the navigation of the river, the durability of the structure, and 
general facilities of intercommunication. 

The subjects which, in this state of the case, naturally present themselves 
for our consideration, are to determine : 

The height to be given to the flooring or archway : 

The span of the arches ; 

The stability of tlie structure : 

The durability of the chains : 

And tjre comparative advantages of wire cables. 

And the better to investigate the peculiarities and merit of the accom- 
panying plan, I shall proceed to examine respectively these several ques- 
tions, and oiler such arguments as it seems proper to adduce in defence of 
the principles of its constiuction, and its fitness for the site upon which it 
is proposed to be erected. 

1. Height of the floor hig or ardiu-uy. 

In determining ilie proper height of the floor of the bridge above the 
surface of the water, we must he guided by the condition assigned in the 
words of the Inw, which requires that it be "of sufficient elevation to ad- 
mit the passage under it of an ordinary steanvboat." It does not seem, 
then, that a strict compliance with the letter of the law demands the alti- 
tude of the flooring to be suflicient to admit the passage under it of the 
largest steam-boats at present used on the Potomac. Nor does it appear 
necessary that it should, for, independently of the fact that great latitude 
is taken by the constructors of steam engines in proportioning the parts of 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 13 

their machinery, there are practical formulae, deduced from scientific 
principles, by wliicli to determine the proper dimensions of a chimney, 
which show that the heiofht and area, and quantity of nir witli which the 
fire must be supplied, are reciprocally dependent on each other. Hence it 
is very easy, when tlie altitude is restricted within certain limits, so to 
proportion tlic area to the height, that it may aftbrd the requisite supply 
of air, I mention this fact merely to show that, when circumstances would 
otherwise require the funnel to be of greater altitude than the height of the 
floor will admit, there is a remedy. Yet, doubtlessi. the hmits within which 
discretion is restricted, sliould not be too confined ; for there are other in- 
conveniences, besides the dinjinution of draught, attached to the adoption 
of chimneys that Itave not suflicieut heig'it. And it appears to me that the 
engineer should be governed in plann.ing a structure of suCh magnitude as 
this b)'^ more important considerations thuii the excessive height which 
taste, caprice, or even necessity, should cause the project or of a steam-boat 
to adopt for his smoke stack. 

If, however, the cliimucys of sonic few boats must necessarily exceed the 
altitude of the fiooring of the bridge, they may be made moveable, (as they 
are on most of the boats used on the Klione. and some oilier rivers of 
Europe,) either by rotating in a vertical plane, by striking, as the mast of 
a vessel, or by having eight or ten feet at the extreniity made to slide upon 
the portion which is stationary. 

These considerations are deemed sufficient to justify me in putting the 
"floor of the bridge in my design forty-six feet above low water. This Avill 
be -sufficient to admit the passage under it of an ordinary steam-boat," for 
the top of the funnels of steam-boats generally is considerably less than 
forty feet above water line: and, as the rise of the tide at Washington is 
usually about three feet, there will be a space at common high water of 
more than three feet between the floor and the top of the chimney. 

2. Span of flic arches. 

This system of construction is peculiarly adapted to those situations 
where a great number of piers would be inconvenient, and where the force 
of water and danger from ice. at the time of freshets, would render it im- 
politic to diminish the waterway, and obstruct tlie channel of the river. 
It is no less valuable where the altitude of tlie fiooring, and the nature of 
the soil at the bottom, arc such that the construction of piers would be ex- 
pensive. 

I have never seen the Potomac at Washington, when swollen to an un- 
usual height, or when olistructed by ice ; but I can easily conceive, from 
my knowledge of the river above tide water, and the great quantity of ice 
that is formed and discharged into it, that it must sometimes drive, and even 
pile to a considerable height, at the position which will be occupied by this 
bridge. And the damage done to the finest structures in every part of the 
I'nion, at the breaking up of the ice during the last spring, should be at- 
tended to as instructive lessons, by those who shall in future be charged 
with the erection of bridges. 

Although the current of the Potomac at Washington, may not be so rapid 
iis that of the Susquehannah at Columbia, Northumberland, or AVilkesbarre,* 

* It is well Icnown that the daiua.'^e sustained bv ihe Columbia bridge, during the great- 
freshet the last v.-inler, and which is lo be attributed solely to the obstruction of the water- 



^4 [ Rep. No. 672. ] 

yet the nature of the soil upon which the piers are to be built, is much 
worse ; and the natural effect of obstructing the channel will be to cause 
the ice to form a dam, and enable the increased velocity of the current, by 
undermining the piers, to overthrow the edifice. The expense of establish- 
ing the foundations of this bridge, and raising the masonry to the level of 
the water, notwithstanding the many facilities v\^hich will be afforded by 
the old bridge, will assuredly be great; for, although tlie precise depth of 
the sand and alluvial deposite does not appear to have been determined, it 
is highly probable that a firm and solid foundation will be found to be many 
feet below the present bed of the river. If such be the case, we have suf- 
ficient inducement to endeavor to diminish the number of piers as much as 
is consistoit with the economical construction of the superstructure. 

But it may appear at the first blush, that, in endeavoring to avoid what 
I deem the popular error, (that of placing too inany obstructions in the 
channel,) 1 have, by fixing the span of the arches in my design at 600 feet, 
fallen into the opposite extreme. I will not now enter into a detail of all 
the reasons which have induced me to fix upon that particular limit ; their 
exposition would require tlje introduction of frequent mathematical for- 
muh£, which would afford no interest to any but the architect or engineer. 
Among the advantages derived from this arrangement, may, however, be 
mentioned, the little obstruction it presents to the navigation of the river, 
as well by otfering an uninterrupted space of 572 feet between the piers, 
lor the passage of steam-boats, as by allowing a greater space from the 
line of the chains to the surface of the water, enabling us to elevate a por- 
tion of the floor, and admit the passage of vessels beneath the cables. 

3. Stabiliti/ of suspension bridges. 

The investigation of the conditions of equilibrium, and the laws of the 
vertical oscillations of these structures, is a subject involving considera- 
tions which require the aid of a profound mathematical analysis. And, 
fortunately, there is no part of the edifice of which the strength, stability, 
or rigidity, may not be tested by the most unquestionable theory. The 
strain and the tension to which every piece of timber, bar of iron, or strand 
of wire, is to be submitted, as well as the extent and the duration of every 
motion prodijced by the passage of vehicles, or any concussive force, are 
all predicted by the calculus : so that it is easy for us to assure ourselves 
of the practicability of any project, as well as to anticipate the difficulties 
to be encountered in putting it in execution. One of the peculiar proper- 
ties of the suspension bridge, and that against which a superficial observer 
generally urges a doubt or an objection, is its flexibility. But so iar from 
being objectionable, it may, I think, be advanced as an argument in favor 
of the system. It enables a light and weak structure to yield repeatedly 

way by the piers, which prevented the free passage oi tlie ice, was such that the cost ol 
repairing it will exceed one hundred thousand dollars. It is also well known tliat the Wilke'-- 
barrc bridge has been two or three times, and from the same cause, literally swept from its 
site, and carried dt)wn the sr.ream; though in a situation presenting every advanlage for the 
construction of a firm and durable edifice. The span, or opening, of the Northumberland 
bridge, is much greater than is usual in similar structures; ami the consequence is, a disgrace- 
ful bending of ihe whole edifice ; which, in the course of a very few years, (if not previously 
destroyed by fire, or prostrated by the ice.) will be crushed by its own" weight. It is, perhap.'--, 
useless to pursue the histories of the remaining bridges, on that, ox the other great rivers of 
this State; they would. \v\\\\ few exceptions, lead to liie same result. Wherever one of our 
wooden bridges has preserved its form and situadon for any length of time, the cost of its coB- 
«truction has been enormous. 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 2^ 

to a lieavy body passing over it, to acquire a new state of equilibrium, and 
return to its former situation, so soon as the distnrbina^ force is withdrawn. 
Whereas, jf tlie structure were of wood, and more particularly if it were 
of any of those systems, of which some peculiarity of the framing; is intend- 
ed to supply the place of curved ribs, alter once yieldin<j, or once bending, 
it would never return. But this objection, supposing it to be one, caimot 
operate against the particular design 1 present ; lor the theory of these 
struetures teaches us that, cwJerls par Urns, the greater the span of the arch^ 
tlie less will be the motion produced by an equal shock occasioned by a fall- 
ing body; that tlie depression produced in the centre of an arch of a sus 
pension bridge, by a weight being placed upon it, is eqiial in all arches, 
whatever be their opening, if the weights of their unit of length are equal,. 
and the curve of their chains similar. But. as the floors of bridges of a 
greater span are generally composed of stronger and heavier materials 
than those of less span, and the area of the sections of the chains of the for- 
mer is much greater than of the latter, it is evident that both the motion and 
depression produced by a given weight or shock will be much less in larger- 
bridges than in smaller ones. These facts are indicated by theory ; 
but existing bridges offer ample proof in corroboration of them. Whilst 
bridges of 100 or 150 feet, (if not strengthened by anxiUary means,) may 
be shaken by the eftbrt of a single individual, those of 300 or 400 ieet (as 
the fine Pont de Beaucaise on the "Rhone) are scarcely moved by the weight 
of a heavy laden wasfon ; and that of 560 feet, constructed by Telford, over 
the strait of Menai, is not felt to tremble under the heaviest teams that are 
ever driven over it. But, although it might be shown that, supposing the 
bridge represented in the accompanying design, perfectly flexible, its own 
weight would be sufficient to preserve its figure, and prevent any danger- 
ous movement ; yet, even if such were not the case, it would be very easy^ 
with the aid of a hand-railing, and a judicious framing of the floor, to ren- 
der it so' rigid and inflexible, that motion would be impossible. And,, 
finally, 1 do not hesitate to assert, after a very extensive examination of 
the subject, that a bridge, constructed according to the design before you, 
would l3e less subject to vibrations and changes of figure, than any wooden 
bridge which it would be practicable to construct in this situation. 

4. Durability of the chains. 

As one of the principal elements of the reasoning by winch we are to 
determine the comparative merit of the system of isuspension is the dura- 
bility of the chains by which the structure is supported, it may be well to 
draw such conclusions, without the light which time only can shed upon 
the subject, as we are enabled to arrive at, from analogy and the data in 
our possession. M. Navier, the engineer whose researches on this sub- 
ject are the most profound, and whose examination has been the most ex- 
tensive, has expressed as his decided opinion, that "the duration of sus- 
pension bridges will be at least equal to that of any other edifices." And, 
indeed, there are many circumstances which militate in favor of the opinion. 
For while there are no well authenticated facts tending to prove the ra- 
pid deterioration of iron, even when exposed to the influence of the at- 
mosphere, there are numerous circumstances of an opposite character. 
We are not to acknowledge the oxidation of iron bars when placed in situ- 
ations so tmfavorable as the feet of iron railings or balustrades, as instances 



^6 [ Kep. No. 672, ] 

of the rapid destruction of tlie metal. For we know that ihe nature 
of th*? solder is often that which would produce immediate oxidation ; 
and also that the decomposition of water, caused by the electricity which 
is developed on tiie contact of two metals of different natures, may lik'e- 
wise produce such a result. 

But there are numerous facts which prove that if iron be preserved 
from humidity, it will remain without sensible deterioration for centuries. 
There is a remarkable fact, which has been noticed by several authors, a§ 
tending to establish the great durability of this material, even when not 
protected by any tegument, and exposed to the constant action of the at- 
mosphere. It is a chain which is suspended between two peaks of rocks 
which command the tower of Moustiers, in the province of the Lower 
Alps, a monument which is supposed to have been erected by a chevalier 
of Rhodes in tlie thirteenth century. 

Although the precise date of the erection of this chain cannot be deter- 
mined with certainty, it is, nevertheless, known to have been there many 
hundred years, and at the present time evinces not the slightest traces of 
any alteration that can be attributed to the effect of oxidation. If, then, 
iron be snsceptible of so long a duration, when thus unfavorably situated 
and entirely unprotected, we have, certainly, sufficient authority to justify 
the expectation t!iat, with an occasional coat of paint, or by the use of any 
integument impervious to water, it may, under ordinary circumstances, be 
preserved almost indefinitely. 

These are important facts ; for, when we compare a structure capable of 
enduring unimpaired for ages, with one which at most we cannot expect 
to last above forty years, and the very existence of which may at any 
moment be destroyed by the fire of a cigar or a spark from a steam-boat 
pipe, we should, unless it be decidedly interior in some other respect, give 
a preference to the former. 

After proving the greater durability of the suspension bridge, it would 
seem that no other argument (excepting what may refer to their compara- 
tive costs) would be necessary to establish its superiority over the wooden 
bridge. But it does not appear from the " proposals," that an estimate of 
the cost of the construction is required ; and, if it were required, it would 
not be in the power of the architect to furnish one without many data that 
are are not yet to be had. He might, however, estimate the quantity of 
masonry contained in the piers. &,c. of the suspension bridge, and, by com- 
paring it with the quantity contained in the piers and abutments support- 
ing a wooden superstrttcture, show that the volume of the latter Avould be 
the greater. 

He might, too, without estimating the cost of estabhshing the founda- 
tions, show that the coffer dams, piling, &c. required for the 25 or 30 piers 
of a wooden bridge, would be far more expensive than those required for 
the eight piers of the suspension bridge. And it would be \'ery easy, by 
estimating the cost of the chains and flooring of the suspension bridge, and 
by comparing it with the known cost of the wood and iron work of exist- 
ing bridges, to prove that even here the prime cost would be in favor of 
the adoption of the suspension bridge. For the present I shall do no more 
than state the fects ; but, sliould it be deemed necessary, I will cheerfully 
•communicate the proofs of them whenever it shall be required. 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 27 

5. Superioritf/ of wire cables. 

I have endeavored, in the preceding observations, to estabhsh llic genc- 
, ral su[)eriority, in bridge architecture, of the system of suspension ; it re- 
mains for mc! to expose the reasons for th*> preference I have frix^en to the 
u.?e of wire cables, instead of the usual wrought iron cliains. 

The circumstance whicii appears to have had the greatest effect in pro- 
moting the adoption of wire a.s a means of supporting the flooring of sus- 
pension bridges, is the remarkable degree of strength which iron acquires 
by the process of drawing it into wire. Though tiie discovery of this fact 
is by no means recent, the credit of conceiving the idea of applying it ad- 
vantafi'eously in the constrnctioii of bridges, appears to Ik; due to M. 8eguin 
d'Annonay. From the valuable experiniedis of this engineer, we find that 
the strengtli of iron wire of a good qurJity is twice as great as that of bar 
iron : and thai the strength of the worst (piality of wire used in his nume- 
rous experiments, was to the mean strength of wrought iron in the prc- 
^ portion of 5 to 4. Indeed, the tension wiiich wire is obliged to resist in the 
act of being drawn, is a sufficient proof of its tenacity. 

In the construction of the bridge between the towns of Tain and Tour- 
non, on the Rhone, there were many opportunities to observe the relative 
force of bar iron, and iron wire. A wire cable used tb.ere in a machine for 
proving the strength of iron bars, was more than three hundred times load- 
ed with a weight exceeding nineteen tons to the square inch, witliout evin- 
cing the smallest evidence of injury from such a repetition of the strain : 
whilst iron bars employed in the same manner, and in the same machine, 
broke after fifteen or twenty trials, though the load did not exceed seven, 
and sometimes was not more than six tons to the square inch, notwithstand- 
ing that the iron was of a good quality, and care was had to obtain speci- 
mens which were perfectly sound. 

These facts, though sufficient, perhaps, of themselves, to justify an at- 
tempt to apply the Uiaterial in the place of the chains usually employed in 
the construction of bridges, are far fiom being the only proofs of the supe- 
^ riority it possesses. In addition to their greater tenacity, wire cables enjoy 
the eminent advantage of being composed of a greater number of inde- 
pendent parts, the breaking of one or several of which would not sensi- 
bly affect its strength ; the friction caused by the pressure of the adjacent 
strands, the ligatures, and the adhesion of the varnish, being- suflicient to 
prevent those which may be broken from slipping.* 

The strength of every wire should be testified by experiment, in manu- 
i'acturing the cable : so that, if any strand have defects which are not dis- 
covered, its force will, at least, be equal to all it will ever be requii'ed to 
exert. 

But -it is different with regard to iron bars ; these may have defects that 
are not only hidden, but which cannot be discovered until the breaking of 
the bar shall have revealed them. A bar which appears perfectly sound 
may sometimes lie broken l)y a f;^ll, a smart blow with a haiumer, or even 
by slightly bending it ; and many bars of which the absolute force, when 
free of defects, would not be less than twenty-eight tons to the square inch, 
break on being tested with an effort of fifteen or sixteen tons ; while others 
yield, open, and show the points where most defective, and only require a 

* A case similar ro thai of a hempi n rcipe, tlie friction of the component ligp'nenls of which 
is superior to their tenacity. 



2S [ Rep. No. 6n. ] 

small increase of tension to produce a rupture. And although it is no^ 
right so to establish bridges that a weight exceeding the third part of the 
absolute force of the iron can ever come upon them ; and although every 
piece should be tested by experiment beyond the greatest strain it will ever 
be obliged to resist, still the possibility of fracture is not entirely removed. 
On a subsequent trial of its strength, iron sometimes breaks under a less 
weight than it had previously resisted, as in the case of the bars used in the 
machine for proving the force of the links employed in certain parts of the 
bridge at Tournon, where they should not have broken until the load 
amounted to twenty-eight tons ; yet, after being successively charged fif- 
teen or twenty times, they broke under six or seven tons. 

And, frequendy, a sudden change of the temperature of the air, by actmg 
immediately on tlie surface of the metal, creates a tension in large bars, 
sufficient, of itself, to produce immediate rupture. 

Tliese are the most serious objections to the use of wrought iron for 
such purposes ; from which, owing to their greater tenacity, the absence of 
serious flaws, the more certain means of testing, as well as the peculiar 
method of manufacturing them, the wire cables are entirely free. 

But it was formerly supposed that, in consequence of the greater surface 
they exposed to the atmosphere, the effect of oxidation would be more 
rapid in the cables than in the chains. When this objection v/as originally 
urged against them, the advocates for the employ of wire, without attempt- 
ing to deny the possibility of the fact, after taking the precaution to varnish 
the separate strands of wire before it was formed into cables, and protect 
the exterior with a coat of paint, left it to time to verify or contravert the 
supposition. I visited, in 1831, the first bridge which was constructed of 
this material in France ; and though it was eight years after its erection 
that I examined it, I could not discover, on a very minute inspection oJ 
the cables, the smallest traces of oxidation. After the success of this first 
experiment, for at die time it was only designed as such, the system ac- 
quired immediate popularity. And tlie architect who now visits Europe, 
for the purpose of examining the public edifices constructed by the great 
masters of his profession, will find the suspension bridges of the Loire and 
the Rhone, objects not the least worthy of their attention. There is noth- 
ing from which he can derive greater gratification and instruction, than 
by following tlie courses of the principal rivers of France and England, 
and observing the splendid bridges which the application to the arts of the 
discoA^eries in science has enabled them to construct in situations where, 
for centuries before, the anticipated difficulties and expense had prevented 
any attempt to form a communication. 

Experiments have since been made by M. Vicat on the progress of the 
oxidation of wire : from whicli, it appears, that a bridge would not be ren- 
dered unfit for use a century after its construction, if the cables were left 
entirely unprotected, each separate strand being isolated, and exposed to 
all the vicissitudes and inclemency of the atmosphere. But during the time 
required for making the experiments from which this result was obtained, 
where the wire was done up in bundles similar to the cables into which it 
was to be manufactured, it was found that the humidity did not penetrate 
sufficiently to tarnish the surface of the central strands. If then properly 
varnished at first, and occasionally painted, we have no reason to believe 
that the term of their duration would be less distant than that of bar iron. 
But every climate renders a peculiar method of treatment necessary ; every 



[ Rep. No. 672, ] 29 

material requires for its preservation a protection adapted to its nature ; 
and it we neglect the precautions required by the constitution and proper- 
ties of the substance, there is no material and no system of construction 
that will not be frail and temporary. 

These remarks are already become too elaborate ; but it did not seem 
practicable to examine the prominent features of the subject, and establish 
the superiority of a new method of construction, in lewer words. 1 may 
not yet have succeeded ; for it is impossible to show in a few paores the 
powers of a system, to demonstrate which others have tilled volumes ; it 
is impossible, by means of any geometrical projection, to exhibit the mag- 
nificence of a supension bridge ; and it is impossible, without an estimate 
in detail of the cost of every part, to prove (that which I confidently be- 
lieve to be a fact) that the original cost of the bridge I propose, without 
reference to its comparative durability, will be considerably less than that 
of an ordinary wooden bridge. 

I will venture no longer to occupy your attention. Though the subject 
of my communication is too extensive to be investigated in a few brief and 
popular observations, v/hat I have said may appear sufficient to fulfil the 
object of the "proposals :" 'if it be not, I will be happy to furnish any 
information in my possession to elucidate the subject. 
I have, sir, the honor to be, 

Respectfully, vour obedient servant, 

CHAS. ELLET, Jr. 

Description of the Drawings. 

Fig. A is a projection, on a small scale, of the entire bridge ; which 
consistvS of seven arches of 600 feet span, and two arches of 483 feet span ; 
the latter being portions of the same figure. 

Fig. B is a plan of the same. 

Fig. C is a projection, on a larger scale, of the two extreme arches, and 
half of each of the adjacent arches. 

Fig. D is a plan of the same, representing the carriageway and foot- 
ways; the former, being 27 feet wide, and the latter, each" 4^ feet 

Fig. E is a projection of the front of one of the piers, or, as they are 
sonu^times called, triimiphal arches. The carriageway in the cejitre is 18 
teet wide, which is sufficient space freely to admit the ]>assage of two ve- 
hicles abreast. The two footways through the pier are each 4 feet wide, 
and 7 feet 6 inches higli. 

The order of the architecture is Ionic, which I have chosen, because it 
appears best adaj)ted to the site, and the materials : for 1 presume the 
piers above high water mark would be built of the freestone which is pro- 
cnred from somewhere near the Potomac, in the neighborhood of Alexan- 
dria. The portion of the piers below the water line, which is liable to be 
injured by ice and floating bodies, should be built of the granite from the 
vicinity of the Little falls. 

Fig. H represents a section of the floor and cables of suspension. 

Each arrh is supported by six cables of wire. 

The joists, strings, and planking in the floor should be of oak. 

Fh^. 1 is a projection of the floor and railing. 

Fig. K and h represent tfie draws. This design offers peculiar facili- 
ties for the construction of tlie draws, and the machinei-y connected with 



30 [ Rep. No. 672. ] 

them. It will be observed, on an inspection of the drawing, that we ele- 
vate a portion of the floor, and admit vessels under the cables. To do this, 
all the larger class of vessels, as ships and brigs, will be constrained to 
strike their royal and top-gallant masts, before they pass the bridge. I 
do not consider this inconvenience of sufticicnt importance to merit a mo- 
ment's comparison witii the decided advantages to be gained by the ar- 
rangement. There are but few ships or brigs owned in Georgetown, and 
these come in but two or three times in the course of the year. The ope- 
ration of striking the top-gallant masts of a merchantman does not require 
at sea more than an hour ; and there will be ample time to do it while 
coming up the river from Alexandria, where those sails can always be 
dispensed with. 

The o-reatest heioht of the chains above the surface of the river at low 
water is 107 feet ; and their altitude at the outer end of the great draw is 
84 feet ; and the mean height, or that ill the middle of the same draw, the 
line where the A'essels will pass, is 9.5 teet, or, at connnon high water, 92 
feet — a space, doubtless, sufficient for the largest vessels that sail from 
Georgetown. 

The machinery for elevating the draws is very simple, and may be un- 
derstood by a reference to figs. F and G on the plan. W and W are two 
weights connected by the chains v and v wiiti the draw, at the distance of 
45 feet from the face of the pier. They descend along the curves n n. and 
mw,, of which the law is such that the ditfereuce between the force exerted 
by the weights, or the tensions of the chains v r, and the resistance of the 
draw, may be constant, the excess being in favor of the draw. This dif- 
ference will be overcome by the force of two men applied at the moveable 
cranks c c. It will therefore descend by its own weight; which, when 
down, will prevent it from ri.sing. But to render it still more secure, and 
prevent any unpleasant skal«ing, it will be fastened by keys and the pecu- 
liar form of the ends of the longitudinal pieces. 

The two great counter-weights W W roll along curves built in the ma- 
sonry, and near the centre of the pier. The strength of the pier will not 
be sensibly diminished l)y the vacant spaces or crescents left there for the 
action of the weights. The length of the lever, by which the pier acts to 
maintain its equilibrium, remains unaltered, whilst the weight of the pier is 
only diminished an amount equal to the weight of the quality of materials 
which those spaces would contain ; and this quantity, being taken from the 
centre, does not ati'ect its stability. 

The construction of the draw is represented in figs. K and T,. It is 
elevated by the chains c and g-. A less weight would he required to raise 
it if the force acted at the extremity ; but as its own weight would then 
strain the longitudinal pieces, or require their weight to be excessive, tbn 
arrangement I have adopted is preferable. 

When the draw is down, it is supported by the oblique chains represent- 
ed in fig. F, at the points a, b, d^ and c. The strengtii of these chains 
must, of course, be sufficient to support the weight of the draw, and the 
transitory loads it will have to sustain ; taking into view tlieir iucliratioi! 
to the vertical. 

The forces applied at the cranks, c c, act at the extremity of the draw. 



[ Uep. No. 672. ] 31 

Extract of a letter of subsequent date, from Charles Ellet, Junior, to 
the Chairman of the Committee on Roads and Canals. 

The extcufciivc applicability ot" these principles, not only as a substi- 
tute ibr the ordinary methods ol' bridge building;, but for aqueducts for 
navigable canals, for feeders, and for portable bridges in military opera- 
tions, would re.illy appear to render it worthy the attention of Govern- 
ment. 

A bridge of one lumdred and tifty feet span, suitable for the purpose 
of an army in the field, and sulhcient for the passage even of artillery and 
stores, could be transported in an ordinary baggage wagon, and might 
be erected by an active officer and a well drilled corps in less than an 
hour. A suspension aqueduct tor the supplying of this city with water, 
could be thrown across the Harlacm river for the sum of .$150,000, which, 
would be more durable, and not less stable, than that of stone, which the 
engineer has estimated at Jf^oOOjOOO. 

We have in all quarters evidence of the necessity (or, at least, room) 
for a change in the present systems of construction : even the stone 
aqueducts on the Erie canal, which so often have been adverted to as little 
less than masterpieces, are already falling to the ground, and must neces- 
sarily be rebuilt before ever the wooden trunks on the same work will fail 
and sooner than the cables of a suspen.sion bridge would have required a 
fresh coat of varnish. 

The enclosed estimate is not a copy of that which was submitted to the 
Secretary of the Treasury. The price of the cables varies from that ori- 
ginally given, in consequence of the false, and, perhaps, interested, state- 
ment of an importer of iron wire : an error which I have since been able 
to correct by the more authentic testimony of an agent for an English house 
at Philadelphia. 

The masonry I have set down at a higher price in the present estimate 
than in that which was formerly presented. If this is higher, it is onlv be- 
cause it provides f(«r the construction of a better bridire ; not that the" for- 
mer was not sulticeiitly high to pay liberally for a work of such a charac- 
ter as would be necessary to compete in utility, economy, and durability, 
v/ith a v/oodcn bridge. The estimated cost of the foundations presented 
to the Secretary of tlie Treasury was made upon a hy]:(ot.hesis explain- 
ed in the letter accompanying it . and if the data I assumed were V\"rong 
the fault is atuibutable to him whose duty it was to have provided better, 

'i'he present e.stimate, you will observe, amounts to .^\318,528, which 
I consider suliicieut to cover every expense. If it should be found deficient in 
any part, it will be in thecostof the foundations ; for, on this subject, where 
experience is not sufficient to furnish a certain guide, and theory is ,inapph- 
cable, the estimate must necessarily be, in a great measure, empirical. 



32 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 



ESTIMA TE of the cost of a icire suspensimi bridge, proposed to be con- 
structed across the Potomac, at Washington. 

[ii the followinof estimate, the quantity and value of the wood and iron 
tire referred to the unit of length of the floor and the supporting cables ; so 
that the quantity of timber, given in the first column, is the number of feet 
in board measure, reduced to a length of one foot measured along the floor; 
and, in like manner, the quantity of iron is reduced to the lineal foot, mea- 
sured along the cables. 



Timber. 


Cost of timber 
per thousand, 
board meas. 


a. 


Cost per lineal 
foot, labor of 
raising, &c. in- 
cluded. 




There will be in each arch 144 transversal beams or 
joists, which will measure, in tlie centre, 7 by 16 
inches - - 

These transversal' beams are covered along the car- 
riageway, first by a course of three inch oak plank- 
ing, laid parallel with the direction of the bridge - 

And this planking is covered with another course, one 
inch thick, laid parallel with the direction of the 
joists ------- 

The footways to be of oak plank two inches thick 

Eight string pieces placed above and beloAV the tians- 
rer.'-al joi.sts ------ 

Railing or parapet - - - 


S-18 00 
17 00 

17 00 

17 00 

18 00 


69 

81 

27 

18 

36 


SI 25 

I 38 

46 
30 

65 
40 




Cost of timber per lineal foot - - - - 


- 


- 


$4 44 




5,'200 lineal feet of timber, at $•' 1 44 - 


- 


- 


- 


$23,088 


In'in. 


Estimated cost 
per pound of 
iron. 


No. of pounds 
per lineal foot. 


Estimated cost 
of iron per 
lineal foot. 




In estimating the co.'.t of this important item, every 
expense is included ; as the value nf the wire, manu- 
KicliiriDg it into cables, paints, oil, varnish, freight, 
raising, &c. the .section of the cables will measure 

70 inches 

Area of the section of the wire suspenders, by means 
of which the floor is connected witk the cables IJ 
incli; mean length 24 feet - . - - 
BoU.s, burrs, and shields, in floering - . - - 
Bars to prevent the slipfiing oi the cables 
Nails and spikes . . . - , 


SO 10 

10 
9 
9 
y 


'230 

30 
10 

8 
o 


S23 00 

3 00 
90 
72 
14 




C jsi of iron per lineal fcwt . - - - 
5,500 lineal feet, cables, iron, &c. at $27 76 - 


I 


$27 76 




- 




$152,680 



[ Rep. No. 672. ] 

STATEMENT— Continued. 



33 







1.4 






Masonry. 






S 2-g 






S3 S'o. 


P4 






From low water mark to the levrcl of the flooring 


S-2,380 


$1 00 


$9,520 




From the plinth of the impost supporting the arch over 
the carriageway, to the summit of the entablature - 


2,400 


5 50 


13,200 




Cost of each pier . . . - - 


- 


- 


822,720 





Eight piers, at f 22,720 

Eight foundations for piers, at $17,000 

Abutments, xA'ings, fastenings. &c. at 25,000 



Estimated cost of bridge 



$181,760 

136,000 

25,000 

$518,528 



Lynchburg, March 13, 1836. 

Dear Sir : Your favor of March 4th, relative to the suspension bridge 
which it is proposed to erect across the Ohio, at Wheehng, was not received 
until yesterday. I have since then employed the facts which you have 
furnished, me in developing a plan for that structure with a view to the 
preparation of an estimate of the probable cost of its execution. Not being 
familiar with the proposed site of the bridge, and having no information 
with regard to the nature and elevation of the banks of the river, 1 know 
not what natural advantages may exist to cause a modification of the plan 
upon which the estimate is predicated. In the absence of authentic infor- 
mation, I have deemed it safest to assume the most unfavorable ease, namely, 
that in which the points of support are to be raised to the full height you 
have named from the bed of the river, and the ends of the cables must be 
secured by an artificial construction raised from the same level. 

These conditions being added to the dattt whicli you have furnished me, 
seemed to designate an arrangement similar to that in the accompanying 
sketch. ;is at once the most suitable and the most economical. 

The span of the arch, measured between the inner faces of the columns 
of support, is 500 ieet; and between each coliunn and the shore is a stone 
arch of 100 feet, the extreme or littoral abutments of which arches are con- 
stituted of the mass of masojiry in which are anchored the cables of sus- 
pension. 

The object of these arches is apparent ; while, added to the opeiiing 
over the channel, they give us a clear waterway of 700 feet, they evidently 
counteract by their thrust the horizontal componant of tlie tension of the 
great cable; and of course, if built with a due regard to the cquilibriun» 
of the structure, neutralise the effort to overturn the abutment. 

If we had a high and abrupt hank on either shore, the design would be 
3 



34 [ Kep- No. 672. ] 

modified so as to lake advantage of it ; the span of the arch mio-ht be in- 
creased, and the height of the cokimns of support diminished • perhaps one 
of the stone arches would be rejected, and the ends of the cables secured in 
(the rock, without erecting an abutment for that purpose. 

The width of the opening which I have assumed as sufhcient, is not dic- 
tated by any difficulty of overcoming the whole breadth of the stream with- 
out the aid of intermediate piers ; but has been selected altogether with a 
view to economy, on the supposition that an artificial support must be 
formed at the level of the river. 

There are no facts in physical science better established than the possi- 
bility of safely suspending a wire cable over a space of six thousand feet, 
where points of support can be obtained at an elevation ot one tenth that 
distance. But a chain suspended under such circumstances sustains a ten- 
sion equal to one-third the absolute force of the material of which it is 
composed ; and therefore would not be capable of supporting any addi- 
tional weight for a great length of time. As we recede witliin this limit, 
still preserving the same ratio between the width of the opening and the 
height of the supports, the load which the cable is capable of sustaining, 
in addition to its own weight, increases ; and at any point within three 
thousand feet the possibility of applying the system to the construction 
of a bridge is unquestionable. 

Though the cost of erecting the supports and executing the work on so 
magnificent a scale will perhaps forever prevent its accomplishment, we 
may expect to witness a much nearer approach to the limit than lias yet 
l)een attempted. 

There are several very important structures in Europe of this character, 
of which the dimensions greatly exceed those of the design before you. 
The Menai bridge, on the great road from London to Dublin, is too well 
known not to liave occurred to your recollection; it measures 560 feet 
between the abutments, and is elevated 128 feet above low water. 

In a recent memoir read to the French Academy by M. Arago, is 
given the principal dimensions of the Fieybourg bridge ; from which it 
appears, that the edifice, which is on the road from Basle to Strasburg, 
measures 880 English feet between the points of support, and that the 
liooring is elevated 167 feet above the bed of the 8anni. 

These examples are quite sufficient to establish the practicability of 
tlie plan proposed ; and though the cost will be great, you will perceive, 
by the following estimate, that it is chiefly due to the excessive height of 
the abutments. 

In forming the estimate I have supposed the width of each car- 
riageway to be twelve feet, and that of the footway six feet, making 
the whole width of the platform thirty feet. The dimensions of the joist 
and planking were calculated on the supposition that they may have to 
sjiistain ihe jolting of the heaviest teams and trains of artillery ; and the. 
estimate for the dimensions, and consequent cost of the cables, is made, as 
asuai, on the presumption that the platform may sometimes be covered by 
a dense crowd of people, occupying the whole distance between the abut- 
ments. This weight exceeds, by many tons, that wliich would be pro- 
duced by droves of cattle, or even a troop of horse. 

SupjMJsing each individual to occupy tliree square feet, we shall find, for 
the weight to be resisted, that due to the pressure of five thousand men ; 
and estimating the average weight ol the individuals composing a crowd 



[ Kep. No. 672. ] 35 

nt 155 lbs. we shall obtain lor the greatest transitory load 346 tons. This, 
added to the constant weight of tiie structure, 384 tons, gives for tiic maxi- 
mum load against which we arc to provide, 730 tons. I'he tension due to 
this weight, unilbnnly distributed along the platform, is 1,062 tons ; and 
this furnishes the data for determining the dimensions of the cables. 

7'Jie platform and its load would be supported by eight iron-wire cables, 
presenting an actual section of eighty square inches : each of these would 
measure ten inches in circumference, and would be capable of supporting 
a weight of 420 tons, which is equivalent to an aggregate force of 3,360 
tons, or more than three times tbe extreme tension which they can Ik- 
required to resist. 

This may appear to be providing a supertluous excess of force ; but it is 
to be observed, that the elasticity of iron is. affected before the load which 
it sustains amounts, to one-half the limit of its tenacity; and though, the 
limit of elasticity of iron wire approaches nearer the limit ot tenacity than 
is found to be true in bar iron, still perfect .security, and a proper regard to 
the durability of the material, seem to point to one-third the absolute force 
as the nearest approach which is consistent with the perfect preservation of 
the nature of the metal. 

The weight of the cables and suspenders will be 240,000 pounds ; and 
being imported free of duty, may be manufactured and deHvered at 11 cents 
per pound. They will he manufactured in five distinct pieces, of which 
the principal, extending from one point of support to the other, will be 530 
feet in length. 

The thickness of the obutments, or columns oi' support, will be 36 feet; 
breadth. 48 feet ; height, from the foundation to the coping of the paraj?et, 
165 feet. They will contain, each. 7,980 cubic yards of masonry, and 
should be built with two vacant spaces in the interior. 

The whole amount of masonry in the structure, according to the plan, 
including the arches, abutments, »fc.c. is 20,800 cubic yards. 

The following may bo regarded as an approximate estimate of tlic cost : 
it is certainly a very lil)eral one lor the suiierstructure, and there can be little 
doubt that the massive masonry required can ha built for the price at which 
it is set down. 

29,800 cubic yards of masonry, at $6 - - - $178,800 

240,000 lbs. wire cables, (cost of raising included,) at 11 cts. - 26^400 

.'>00 hneal feet of platform --""--. 2,50t> 

$207,700 

As the width of the other charuiel is ninety ket less than (hat to which 
this estimate applies, its cost would be proportionably diminished, and J 
should therefore consider $;400,t)00 a liberal estimate for the two. 

The value of masonry, of course, depends on its quality ; .-md as the di- 
mensions of this bridge art; on a grand scale, and the character of the super- 
.structure is designed for a' work of the first cLx^s, I have deemed it essential 
to raise it on a permanem foundation. Such a structure should only be 
adopted on an important occasion ; and, when adopted, it should l>e monu- 
mental. 

I have only to add, that the accompanying })lan is to be regarded nieri-ly 
as the result of a half hour's refiecliouj and not as the disposition which 



6 [ Rep. No. 672. ] 

would actually be adopted after an examination of the site, and mature de- 
liberation on the subject. Indeed, when we observe the quantity of masonry, 
(nearly 14,000 cubic yards) provided in the estimate for the purpose of se- 
uring the cables, there can scarcely remain a doubt than a muc\j more ad- 
vantageous arrangement might be selected. 
I remain, dear sir. 
Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

CHARLES ELLET, Jr. 

Hon, 0. F. Merger, M. C, 



i> K s I (; ]v 

MTSOSS Tim OHIO 
AT WliEKJ^l^C; 



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